“A crucial topic is failed to be fully explored”
[contains spoilers and discussions of online sexual violence]
The sheer lack of restrictions on AI content is a deeply concerning aspect of this emerging technology. Without proper, thorough regulation, the potential damage is scarily expansive. Despite this, tech companies and governments appear to be working hand in hand to keep the bubble growing. After all, growth is all that has mattered over the past four or so decades, even if few of us are feeling its benefits. It is this lack of regulation that Ben Hatt’s new play Imposed seeks to explore, focusing on the moment two women discover their likeness has been used to create deepfake AI pornography.
The premise is horrifying, yet not unfamiliar. AI use is significantly more common among men than women, with AI then being deployed by some of these men as a tool to enact violent misogyny. There has been extensive reporting in recent months on the violence of deepfake AI pornography, most notably the use of Elon Musk’s AI bot ‘Grok’ to unconsensually undress women online. Hatt’s play unmistakably exists in our world, offering a chance to zoom in and centre the lives of women surviving this kind of violence.
This is all to say that the material of Imposed is important. It is crucial to see on stage and to explore thoroughly. Unfortunately, the script offers limited exploration of the systems that have led to this epidemic of violence, instead framing itself as a whodunnit that rarely expands beyond what is already outlined in the programme.
The play opens with Kate (Elizabeth Colwell), hungover on the sofa. While this opening scene feels somewhat bloated, introducing the character through a humorous and relatable moment does effective work in humanising her. We are then introduced to Mark (Aaron Lynn), a neighbour and apparent friend of the flatmates. He laments not being funny enough for a date before leaving, not to return until the end of the play. Kate soon receives a notification on her laptop and her face drops in horror. Her housemate Allie (Josselyn Ryder) enters, and Kate shows her the video.
Colwell’s performance here is nothing short of excellent. Her characterisation of Kate is precise, and her emotional range is impressive. Across the board, the actors do strong work with the script, which is generally a solid example of naturalistic writing. The issue, however, is that the writing itself is not especially expansive. Kate and Allie move back and forth in frustration and disbelief, but we gain little insight into their inner lives beyond the immediate and obvious horror of the situation.
It is only towards the end of the play, when the two women make very different choices in how they handle their perpetrator, that there is a glimpse of deeper interiority. However, there is little build-up to this divergence, resulting in an ending that feels indulgent and melodramatic. Even in moments where they are not explicitly arguing, Kate and Allie appear to be in constant opposition. While solidarity is not a necessity, its near-total absence feels like another inconsistency in the portrayal of their relationship.
The choice to set the play in Washington DC, with Allie working for Congress and Kate as a lawyer, is an interesting statement. These details, however, seem to serve the mechanics of the plot more than the development of character. The bones of something richer are present, but they rarely connect. The whodunnit structure ultimately proves limiting, and the identity of the perpetrator is obvious from very early on.
Imposed gestures toward a genuinely terrifying truth: there is currently no meaningful legal framework for victims of deepfake AI pornography to seek justice. This is a grave aspect of the story, yet it does not stand out as a particularly resonant moment in the script. Nor is there much exploration of what addressing this absence could look like. There are more compelling avenues this premise might have taken, and it is hard not to wonder what Imposed could have been had it pursued them more fully, perhaps through a more restorative lens.